Archives For Health and Wellness

Over the 15 plus years I have been in the fitness industry world, I have tried many different aspects of training and nutrition protocols, to see what works best for myself and clients I have worked alongside.

Some things worked better than others, and some got better results than others. In other words…what worked for one person didn’t necessarily work for the other and vice versa.

I used myself as a science project over the years as well. I found that with some of the things I tested out, I never really felt 100%, and that some aspect was missing.

I would push myself to the limits, feel depleted after workouts, and thought at the time I was ‘killin’ my training.

I tried high carb, low carb, no carb eating….never felt 100%.

I did vegan for 6 months and didn’t feel great.

I tried HIIT workouts which got me results, but drained me at times.

I tried 6, 8, 9 and 12 week programs that mainly focused on building muscle. Got some results but couldn’t sustain it for longer than the time period.

I played with around my nutrition on each of these training protocols, but never felt like I could sustain it long term or for a lifetime.

And I tried many other things….

As I got older and I must say a little more mature, I started listening to my body a little and really taking notice of what others were doing that I respected in the industry.

I also open my mind to other modalities of training, not just the lifting of heavy stuff.

I was missing out on a huge part of my training which was the recovery side of things. I found more balance in my training.

As the years went on, I added another component to my training which was yoga.

It was like a whole new world for me and finally I was enjoying training in a whole new way. I was starting to feel more energized and recovering better. I was even lifting less often but with a more focused attention to detail.

With my new found knowledge I started to put together the pieces from my own experiences and learning from others. This is when I came up with a 360 degree approach to health, wellness and vitality.

The GD360 Approach has a balanced methodology that focuses on 6 components on wheel:

MINDSET: It all starts here with the mind, as what you focus on you achieve. You have to know what you want, why you want it, and a massive plan of action to go after it. You have to have clarity with you goal to achieve it and take massive action on a daily basis to achieve the desired outcome.

NUTRITION: Nutrition plays a massive part in every aspect of your life as what you eat has an effect on how you function on a daily basis. Consuming healthy, wholesome, nutritious food, will provide you with the fuel your body needs for your daily actions.

RESISTANCE TRAINING: You have to challenge the body in some way for it to grow, by using various training tools or your own body weight. Resistance training builds strength, power and muscular endurance depending on your goals, for you to feel strong and powerful, reduce the risk of injuries and improve health.

CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: this is a very important component to improve cardiovascular fitness, using various heart rate intensities, depending on the goal.

RECOVERY: This comes in may different forms, from stretching, foam rolling, trigger point therapy, to ice baths, steam rooms, sauna, jacuzzi, to massages, sleep, nutrition, lower intensity workouts for some.

RE-ENERGIZE/REVITALIZE: Here is where we do things we enjoy, like dancing, surfing, paddle boarding, or any fun thing that you enjoy doing. In this approach you can also do things like various types of yoga, tai chi, breathing exercises, meditation, use of essential oils, pretty much anything to de-stress the body.

As you can see, this is a well rounded approach to your Health, Wellness and Vitality. With this approach, I have been able to find balance in my week with my health and fitness, but more importantly sustain it and enjoy it as I get older.

How can you apply the GD360 Approach to your daily routines, to become 1% better?

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About Gavin

Gavin De Souza is a Certified Precision Nutrition Coach and Fitness Professional.

He has worked in several training facilities in the UK and US, specializing in Personal Training, Nutrition, Body Transformation, as well as Youth Fitness Development and Sport Specific preparation.

Gavin has been involved in the Fitness Industry since 2002.

In addition, Gavin focuses on helping to serve, mentor, inspire, lead and empower busy, successful, professionals, to find balance in their lives, so that they can unleash their true potential, to LOOK, FEEL and PERFORM at their ultimate best in sport and life.